This was my first PM race (I typically train in the AM and enjoy racing in the AM). It was a little tough for me to dial in my nutrition all day. The day was super hot, as you would expect for July.

The course was quite confusing as it winds through a 2 mile span of Lincoln Park on the inner and outer paths. Too many turns for my liking....

Post-race party was mediocre.

While heading to the race, I freaked out because I didn't really know where the start/finish area was. Luckly, my pal Jordan was there already and guided me from Randolph St.

I ended up in a cute little park setting among super tall condo buildings. Gear check was held there and we used the restrooms prior to heading down to the lake front path for the start.

The course was pretty simple - out and back - along the LFP, past the museum campus, etc. I was happy to have Jordan with me as he helped me reel in a PR of 1:42. I had some pain in my foot the last 3 miles. The post-race breakfast food was kind of weird - just give me a bagel, save your money and mine - I'll get brunch elsewhere.

Loved adventuring Memorial Day weekend with Eric, Dan and Amanda. Dan did the 5k and 10k, Eric did the 10k and Amanda and I did the 5k.

I was looking to PR this race, and I can say that I did, by nearly 40 seconds. The course starts heading downhill, winds up a hill into a neighborhood and finishes uphill....which is pretty tough.

The weather was also not fun as it was raining. This is a nice race to get off of the lake front path!

I loved the SS in 2012, so I had to take another whack at it. This time I was seeded in Corral B. Along with some teammates, we jogged over to the corrals about 20 minutes ahead of when they closed to ensure we would get in as it wasn't a huge deal last year. This year, there was a HUGE crowd as they were checking EVERYONE's bibs to make sure they were going into the correct corral (a good thing!), however the rate at which they were doing it must have been slow as they began to close the gates at 8:15 and nearly half of the field was not in their corrals. This lead to the crowd pushing and people jumping fences.

My adrenaline was pumping as I finally reached the corral with a few minutes to spare. I was able to PR significantly which made up for the bad experience at the start. The shirt was GREEN this year - an upgrade from the prior year.

So, I may have erased this experience from my memory, so I will recall what I can. Our friend promised a fast course and beautiful day. We got rained/stormed on the ENTIRE race (well, except my last 2 miles). On the way to Folsom, our bus driver also got on the wrong road and was lost for a hot-minute. This was my first point-to-point marathon so I was kind of nervous. The wind gusts were so strong that tree branches were in parts of the course and it rained so much that there were puddles up to my ankles.

Needless to say, my experience was far from glamorous. It was the 35th Anniversary, so there was a gigantic medal - which made up for the crappy race. I don't even remember what the aid stations were like, except that I'm guessing a lot of the volunteers didn't show up.